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Hawaiian Botanicals @ The 2005 Vancouver Garden Show |
The busy little
bee flitted from flower to flower, buzzing happily as she worked in the warm
spring sunshine. A sudden breeze, laden with the sweet aroma of nectar,
puffed across the meadow and caught the little bee's attention. She followed
the tantalizing fragrance into the boggy heart of the meadow, where she
discovered the source - a thick patch of strange, tubular plants, gleaming
ruddily in the afternoon sun. Here, the air was filled with the buzzing of
other busy insects going about their business.
The little bee alighted upon the nearest leaf and
although momentarily confused by the cylindrical shape, she quickly turned
her attention to the rich drops of nectar adhering to the leaf's surface.
She eagerly lapped up the delicious fluid and climbed up the side of the
leaf, following the sweet, sticky trail. Her path led her to a strange
opening at the top of the leaf, and there she teetered, attempting to peer
downwards into the gloomy cavern. The heady scent of nectar wafted up from
the depths, but a sense of foreboding caused the little bee to hesitate. The
lure of the nectar droplets gleaming just inside the tube was too much for
her, however, and she scrambled over the rim and climbed headforemost into
the interior of the leaf.
The intoxicating sweetness led the little bee deeper
and deeper into the vertical chasm, until she felt the walls uncomfortably
close. Sensing danger, she attempted to reverse her direction but the tiny
hairs lining the walls were pointing downwards, and prevented her from
backing out. The little bee had no choice but to proceed as before and her
situation was now very grim. Her downward journey had taken her to an area
of the tube where the surface was waxy smooth and she suddenly lost her
footing. In a flash, the poor little bee had fallen and landed with a splash
in the murky liquid at the bottom of the trap. She buzzed her little wings
frantically, but the sound was lost amidst the symphony of other desperate
buzzes emanating from all around her.
For this was no ordinary bog. This bog ate meat.
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